Duane Allan Smith

Duane Allan Smith, 87, of Durango, Colorado passed away peacefully Tuesday evening, November 26, 2024, surrounded by family after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Duane was born in San Diego, California on April 20, 1937, to LT(USN) Stanley Smith and Ila Smith, at Point Loma where they were stationed during WWII. At the time Stanley was a Prisioner of War in the Philippines, where he would remain for the first 4 years of Duane's life.

While his father was a POW, Duane moved with his mother to their hometown of Sandwich, Illinois where he was raised on the family farm until his high school graduation in 1955. After graduating, his family moved West to Colorado where his father took a position as Director of the Wardenburg Student Health Center at Colorado University in Boulder. Duane became a student there and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in 1959, continued for his Master of Arts in 1961, and culminated with his Doctorate of Philosophy in 1964.

It was during his sophomore year attending CU where he met the love of his life, fellow student, Gay Woodruff. The pair had back-to-back classes and Duane became quite smitten, declaring her a ‘hot number’! The couple wed in August 1960 and welcomed their only child, Laralee, in 1968.

Duane’s legacy at Fort Lewis College began in 1964 when Duane took a position with the History Department. Thus began a storied career as an educator, researcher, and writer that would last over 47 years. 

During his tenure, Duane wrote and co-authored over 50 books, textbooks, and professional articles ranging on topics from historical figures, the mining industry, baseball, the Civil War, and (arguably his favorite) Colorado history. One of his favorite topics was Horace Tabor and his book Horace Tabor: His Life and the Legend was heralded as the first biography to delve into the life of the Colorado icon. Duane’s passionate study of Horace resulted in the family’s annual celebration of Horace’s birthday, November 26th, with a special meal and ice cream cake. Duane even had the opportunity of stepping into Horace’s boots with an honored portrayal of Horace at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville during a theatrical production.

His deep love and prolific knowledge of history was celebrated by many and earned him numerous recognitions and awards including; The Fred H. Rosenstock award from the Denver Westerners in 1987, Colorado Humanist of the Year from the Colorado Endowment for the Humanities in 1989, Colorado Professor of the Year in 1990 and the Rodman Paul award in 1992. Throughout his life, Duane remained active locally and statewide in a variety of roles including being a member of the Colorado Centennial Commission, Durango History Preservation Commission, Society for American Baseball Research, Mining History Association, Western History Association, the Colorado Historical Society, serving as LaPlata County Democratic Chairman and being a member of the Methodist Church.

Despite all of his professional achievements and accolades, the most important thing in Duane’s life was always his family. He cherished the time he spent with them playing Trivial Pursuit, and once his inevitable win was secured, he would declare his victory and proclaim, “If you don’t know history, you’re doomed to repeat it!” 

As a devoted Cubs fan, Duane joyfully celebrated when his Cubs broke the curse in 2016 and won their first World Series title since 1908. Former students remember that writing a note about the Cubs' score in the margin of an exam was always good for an extra point or two on the test.

Duane will be deeply missed by his daughter, Laralee Breunig, and her husband Michael, of Durango as well as his dear friend of the past three years, Marge Warner. He was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Gay Woodruff Smith in 2017. Duane will be fondly remembered by his students, colleagues, and friends for his lasting legacy, and the contributions to the preservation and telling of history that he made to the City of Durango, Fort Lewis College, and the State of Colorado, for all the generations that come.

A service will be held January 4,2025, at 2:00 p.m., at the Community Concert Hall on the campus of Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made in his name to the LaPlata County Humane Society in Durango, Colorado.